Summer Sun
by SamwiseAtHeart
Summary: The worst drought Hazzard has ever seen blazes on. The closeness of the young Duke family ties helps keep everyone in good spirits, even though the crop is failing, and there is that ever looming possibility that it will fail.


And here I am with another story. I want to thank HazzardHusker for being the inspiration for this, or at least starting the avalanche with that little stone that got this rolling. I'd like to say that this was partially inspired by what happened when I was about Bo's age in this. We had a drought, and when it finally rained, my entire family celebrated outside.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dukes, nor do I profess to do so. The rights go to whomever actually owns the rights.

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**Summer Sun**

Jesse Duke paused from his work out in the fields for just a moment and looked to the sky hoping to see a cloud, but had no luck. There was none to be found. There was only the blazing sun. The Duke Clan patriarch sighed, a little disappointed and took a swig from his canteen before he continued to try and bring what little moisture he could, to his parched crop by turning on the sprinkler system for the short amount of time he was allowed to.

Hazzard County had been experiencing the worst drought that Georgia had seen in over a century. There had been hardly a drop of rain in two years at least, and the scorching sun continued to blaze on, dehydrating flora, fauna, and man alike giving no relief to the heat or the unquenchable ongoing thirst that persists. The yellow grass and lethargic children of Hazzard could attest to that. Water reserves had slowly been dropping over the two years, but even more so in these last summer months, and now there was a very strict restriction on how much water a household could use up in a day. Farming families only got a little more than the average Joe's for their crop.

Jesse sighed and turned off the sprinkler system after only a couple minutes... not near enough time for the amount of water the plants needed in order to grow like they should. Looking at his withered crop for a minute after the pipes ceased to bring the life bringing liquid to the unusually small plants, Jesse sadly turned his head away and headed back to the house, and to the arms of his wife, and his three charges, hoping that they could cheer him up from the depressing thoughts of his failing crop.

His niece and two nephews Daisy, Luke, and Bo were the pride of his life. They had all come to live with him through tragedy, but through that tragedy was wrought a blessing… the blessing of life. The three children were precisely what Jesse and his wife Martha needed in order to put a spark and excitement into their life. The care of those magnificent children gave him and his dear wife a real reason to live and go on each day. Seeing the children's grinning faces when they completed a project they particularly enjoyed was something that was worth everything in the universe to the Duke patriarch. Jesse chuckled as he started thinking about the three kids he had now come to think of as his own children. There was Luke the oldest, Daisy in the middle, and Bo, his youngest.

Luke. Oh he was such a strong young boy. Though he was only eleven, Luke was far more intelligent than most people took him for. He could talk his way out of trouble and solve things easily with words. He'd choose that path more often than he would with his fists. Though if he got riled up, those sapphire blue eyes would bore a hole right through you, just before his fist would connect with your nose. And you wouldn't want to be on the underside of his fist… despite his size, Luke could pack a punch that could knock out Maudine the mule. Jesse chuckled thinking about this. He was sure glad that Luke had his younger cousins, they were able to keep his anger in check, keep him mellow, and gave him an outlet for his excess energy by having someone to roughhouse with, and to look after. Luke had never really gotten over the fact that he had lost his baby brother in that fire, after his parents died… and so he had nobody to care for. Not until Bo and Daisy had come to the farm a year after he did. It wasn't long before Luke took to his natural instinct, and kept a close eye on his younger cousins. He set himself as their protector, the shoulder they could cry on, but he mostly set himself to be their best friend.

Jesse sighed, and then his mind wandered more toward his niece, Daisy. The one he said is the hope for the Duke clan. She was fairly tall for her age, and had long chestnut colored hair with a dark tan complexion year 'round. Daisy was just as pretty as her name. She was his precious little girl. She was such a beautiful one at nine years old. Already there were boys who looked twice at her. Jesse laughed when he recalled the tales that Luke shared with him about what happens when boys got a little too forward with her. They end up face first in the dirt as a result of her fist. Though he didn't approve of fighting, Jesse was glad that Daisy was able to take care of herself in the boy department. He was proud of his little girl for being so brave too. Jesse recalled that she had been so brave after the accident that claimed her and Bo's parents. She had only been four at the time, and had only a little idea of what was going on, but she had understood and handled herself with courage and poise at the funeral and burial of her parents. She was bright in her school learning, the top of the class. She was already learning some of the more feminine things like how to sew, and how to cook from Martha, but she was also strong and man enough to compete with the boys when they roughhoused. Yep, Daisy sure was a unique and wonderful individual. And it was her spark, fire, and lust for life that easily created a very special place in Jesse's heart. He loved that girl so.

And Bo? What a child he was. At seven, Jesse could tell anyone that Bo was a very special spirit. The young blonde boy was almost always getting into places he shouldn't be, and also getting into tangles with the randomest of random things. Those was which gave Martha much more mending to do than what their two oldest charges gave her put together. Bo was a very curious kid, and as such got into messes that Luke often had to help him get out of. But Bo was also such a joyful little boy, quick to give a hug and show love. He wore his emotions out on his sleeve, when he was angry he was angry, when he was happy he was happy, and when he was sad, he was definitely sad and he let everyone know it. The elder Duke remembered once when Bo accidentally stepped on a bird crushing it to its death while they were visiting the Atlanta Zoo last year. Bo openly cried for the entire rest of the trip, being upset that that innocent creature wasn't alive any more and that it was all his fault. It took a week of calming words and lots of hugs before Bo was back to his old self again. Jesse smiled thinking of how his youngest started to wonder how things both animal and plant, lived and grew after that incident. It was evident even earlier today. Jesse heard Bo ask Martha about how plants grow.

"_So what happens ta make corn grow Aunt Martha?" Little Bo asked._

"_Well there are good things found in dirt that the plants use to help them be healthy and grow big and strong. Their getting that special plant food from the ground is a lot like eating green vegetables like broccoli is for little boys. _

"_Aww Aunt Martha… but I don't like broccoli." Bo said in almost a whine, but there was a hint of concern in his voice too. He was worried that what his aunt had said might actually be true. Bo wanted to grow big and strong like his cousin Luke, who was his best friend, so he decided that he'd maybe try eating a little more broccoli… just in case._

_Martha smiled at her nephew. "Corn also needs water to grow. Do you know where corn gets its water from?"_

_Bo looked at her with big and innocent baby blue eyes. "From the sprinklers?" _

_Martha smiled. "Yes, on a farm like ours water comes from the sprinklers. But do you know where the water came from?"_

"_Uhh…" Bo closed his eyes and scrunched his forehead as he thought about it. He thought back and back trying to see the time when everything was still green, back when there was water everywhere. His thoughts stopped on a thought that went back to before he was even five. Something caught his attention from that memory. There was a pond… on their land, a pond that he and Luke liked to swim in with Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha watching. That pond wasn't there anymore… but he remembered that it was very wet and very fun. What was it that was different then? Why was there a pond then and not now? Bo struggled to remember why. Then suddenly it hit him as he remembered the frightening flash of lightning and the sound of thunder with little droplets of water falling from the… _

"_From the sky! Water comes from the sky." Bo said proudly at his memory. _

"_You got it!" Martha smiled. "lots of our fresh water comes from rain."_

_Bo looked out the window and then back to his aunt his eyes in thought and a little bit of confusion. "It hasn't rained in a long time huh Aunt Martha? Do you know when it'll rain again?"_

"_No Bo. I don't." Martha had looked at him sadly, knowing how dire their predicament was. Their crop was almost dead, and if it were to die completely, their whole livelihood would be destroyed with it. The county would take the house, and who knows what else would happen to them. But instead of focusing on the bad, Martha chose to have faith that things would go their way. She chuckled and brushed her fingers through Bo's golden locks. "Hopefully it will soon though. Our corn needs the water."_

_Bo looked at Martha sensing some of the inner turmoil his maternal figure was feeling. He gave her a hug and fixed his eyes on her with a confident look on his face. "I know it'll rain soon."_

"_You think so?"_

"_I know so Aunt Martha. It's gonna rain soon."_

Jesse sighed as he pictured the determination on his boy's face. Bo was so sure… the look on his face was like he actually _knew_ that something was going to happen. Jesse shook his head. He wasn't as sure as his nephew about the rain, and he hoped that Bo wouldn't be too disappointed if it stayed dry for the rest of the summer like it was promising to be. As the Duke Clan patriarch headed back to the farmhouse, he couldn't stop the small feeling in his heart that his youngest just might be right despite what the weatherman on the TV said. There was something special about little kids, he knew, and he wouldn't dispute the perception of his little boy.

Reaching the front yard Jesse's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he was suddenly bombarded by three wound up hooligans who called themselves his niece and nephews, who had just attached themselves to his midsection in a great big hug.

"Uncle Jesse!!!!!!!" Bo squealed out so excited to see his father figure, just as Daisy and Luke grinned and said "Welcome home Uncle Jesse."

"Easy now…" Jesse laughed, he had been out in the fields for only a half the day or so. It was funny how much his kids had missed him in such short a time. "It's good to see you too…" He said grabbing the three and bringing them into a great big squishy hug and planting a kiss on all three of their foreheads.

Pulling himself off his Uncle with his cousins, Bo grinned upwards to the man he had just extricated himself from "Uncle Jesse guess what? Aunt Martha's got some popsicles in the freezer, and she let us have one just a minute ago. I think she has one for you too."

"Is that so?" his eyes twinkled.

"Yeah it is…" A female voice said, coming from the direction of the farmhouse.

Jesse turned his head at the sound of his wife's voice. He saw her standing on the porch holding two popsicles beckoning him to come to her with her eyes. He smiled at his wife and then turned his head back to his youngest. "It looks that way sprout, Why don't you stay out here and play with yer cousins."

"They're out there to do their afternoon chores Jesse. But they can play once their done." Martha said so that both he and the three kids could hear.

"Right. You mind yer Aunt. I don't want ta see ya playin' 'til I see the chores done." Jesse said turning back to his charges after looking over at his wife.

"Yes sir" Bo, Luke, and Daisy chirruped, still happy that they got a treat a few minutes ago, and trotted off to do their work.

Jesse smiled one last time at the youngin's and then went and stood at his wife's side on the porch. He gave her a kiss as she handed him one of the cold sweet juice pops, and together they sat on the porch swing and enjoyed slurping on their treat, watching the kids get to their chores.

After Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha sent them off to do their chores, the three kids ran off to the barn to work together and muck out Maudine's stall, bring in food and fresh straw for her, and to feed the chickens.

Luke took the lead in the mucking since he was the biggest. He sent Daisy and Bo to go up to the loft and send down a bale of hay and to grab a bag of feed. The middle and youngest cousin took it in stride and scurried up the ladder to the loft.

"Luke ya want a big bale or a little bale?" Daisy asked her cousin who was shoveling out the mule's stall.

Luke scrunched up his nose at the amount of junk he was taking out and said, "Better make it a big one cousin. Maudine had a big load today P.U…"

"Alright honey…" She giggled "Bo help me with this."

"'Kay Daisy."

Together Bo and Daisy pushed with all their might and shoved the bale of hay off the top edge of the loft where it landed close to where Luke could get at it after all the muck was out of the stall.

With that job done, Daisy grabbed the much smaller feed sack and carried it down the ladder. Once down she got a small bucket and filled it up with chicken feed and sent Bo off to take care of the last chore while she helped Luke finish up in here.

"And Bo, don't go chasin' the chickens! You know Uncle Jesse doesn't like it when ya do that." She called after him.

"Okay!" Bo yelled back as he ran to the chicken coop.

Jesse and Martha watched as their youngest ran to the chicken coop with the bucket of feed, and smiled. They knew that the kids' chores were almost done. Their chores were done like clockwork. Bo would run to the coop, and about five minutes later Luke and Daisy would come out of the barn done with mucking Maudine's stall. They would then tackle Bo when he was least expecting it… and that would be the start of their afternoon roughhousing.

"And there they go." Martha chuckled.

Luke and Daisy had emerged and suddenly pounced on Bo, tickling him to the ground. Bo fought his way up from his prone position and tackled his two cousins. Soon the three of them were just a tangle of arms and legs as they wrestled in the dirt.

The three kids were at it for quite a while when at one point Luke stood up because he felt something.

"Luke, what is it?" Daisy asked as she got off of a squirming Bo.

"I don't know… I felt something... It might just be the wind though, can you feel that?"

Bo stood up and looked up to the sky. He saw a bunch of clouds on the horizon. "It's gonna rain Luke, that's what it is. In school today my teacher said somethin' about a bar… a barom… uh I can't remember what the name is, but it starts with a B. But this thing is a machine that can tell when it's gonna rain. But she told us that sometimes some people can feel rain coming just like that machine can."

The blonde giggled and said in a sing song voice. "Hey Luke, yer a machine, Yer a machine…"

Luke glared at his little cousin, slightly annoyed, but slightly amused. He fought a smile and said, "I am not." and then pounced on Bo, bringing them all back into another bout of wrestling.

Jesse just shook his head and smiled in amusement as he watched his kids horsing around in the yard. Watching them go at it like that reminded him of some happy memories of when he was their same age and did the same thing with his many brothers in the very same yard. He was sure that Bo, Luke, and Daisy would treasure today and days just like it, just as he treasured those memories of his brothers.

It was only a short time later, maybe only ten minutes or so, after Luke had sensed something when the bright sun suddenly disappeared behind a cloud. The clouds on the horizon were now no longer on the horizon, but taking over the skies in an ambush, continually inching forward, taking over by force anything that was blue.

Once again the kids stopped their horseplay, this time it was Bo who stood up first. He stood up straight and kept unnaturally still for a boy his age with his eyes raised to the sky and one hand outstretched.

"Watcha doin' Bo?" Luke asked bemused at his cousin's funny position.

"Catchin' rain." He said simply.

Luke looked up and then back at his cousin and said with a raised eyebrow, "Bo, it ain't rainin'."

"Yeah it is Luke." Bo said and moved his hand so that Luke and Daisy could see it. On the small hand of their cousin, Luke and Daisy saw a single spot that didn't have dirt on it. It was small, it was shiny, it was wet… and it was no doubt a raindrop. Both Luke and Daisy then held out their hands in front of them and gazed up like their little cousin was.

"Come one rain… you can do it." Bo whispered to the air. "You can do it." He said again.

Daisy jumped as she felt something wet hit her hand. So did Luke. Bo giggled in delight as he felt a raindrop hit his forehead and another hit his outstretched hands. "That's it rain!" He whispered. "Come on rain just a little more… You can do it!"

At Bo's beaconing, more and more droplets began to fall, dripping on the faces of the three children with their faces to the sky, and onto the parched earth. As the drops hit the soil, the ground sucked the moisture right in, beginning the process of quenching its too long thirst for water.

The droplets came, and they came, turning into a steady shower. Bo shook his self out of his reverie and bolted into the house where Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha had quietly stepped in while he and his cousins were wrestling their second bout.

"Uncle Jesse! Aunt Martha! It's rainin'! It's rainin'! Uncle Jesse come see come see!" Bo grabbed the hands of his two guardians and tugged them out the front door and onto the porch.

"Look Uncle Jesse Look!" Bo let go of their hands and ran out into the rain holding his own hands out open to the sky and letting the steady rain pour over him. The blonde boy grinned and looked over to his cousins. "It's rainin'! Luke, Daisy, it's rainin'! YEEHAW!" Bo yelled excitedly and tackled Daisy and Luke in a great big hug.

"Yep, it's rainin' cousin." Luke laughed. With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he continued in a whisper "Hey, Daisy, Bo… on the count of three lets grab Uncle Jesse an' Aunt Martha. Ya'll know what to do with them once we got 'em."

The two others nodded, grinning wickedly.

"One… two… THREE!"

In an instant, Jesse and Martha found themselves in the front yard with three sets of arms tight around either their arms, or midsections, where they were suddenly getting wet as rain fell upon their slightly confused heads.

Jesse came to his senses first, and saw the glee all over his kid's faces. He loved seeing that, and so the thought of sending them inside for pulling him and Martha out there was not an option. Instead he decided to let himself be a kid again. Jesse let out a cackle like laugh and stomped his foot down in a puddle, sending water flying everywhere, soaking himself, Martha, and the kids.

Five sets of laughter filled the air as the older couple and their three children splashed in the puddles, threw a football around, and lifted their faces to the sky enjoying the rain.

Jesse knew that this day of rain was just a beginning, a turning point in the county and state's fortune. There was going to be rain now. That little pond on their land was going to refill, the rationing of water would cease, and most importantly his crop, and the crops of the county would finally grow like they should, making their dire predicament not so dire anymore. Jesse smiled, looked to the sky and drank in the moisture. He knew that his family would be okay now. The rain had come.

The End

(A/N): Random fact, The incident of Bo squishing the bird at the zoo actually happened to me, only it was at the National Zoo in D.C. and it was just as traumatic for me as it was for Bo.


End file.
